LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To quote police Chief Tim George from the Thursday MT, "In this day and age, it is unfortunate, but a reality, that we sacrifice certain liberties we've had for the greater good."

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Posted Jan. 23, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Posted Jan. 23, 2013 at 2:00 AM

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To quote police Chief Tim George from the Thursday MT, "In this day and age, it is unfortunate, but a reality, that we sacrifice certain liberties we've had for the greater good."

To quote Ben Franklin, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Or as more popularly paraphrased: Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. — Frank Powell, Medford

I voted for Mike Winters for sheriff. I voted for him because I felt he was the best person to uphold the law of the land. The sheriff's duty is to uphold the law.

I admire a person who stands up for his beliefs. Winters can disagree with a law as much as he wants, but Sheriff Winters' duty is still to enforce that law. If his conscience will not allow him to do so, then his duty is to resign as sheriff.

I wonder how a sheriff would respond to a deputy who felt that traffic laws were beneath them and refused to enforce them. Would the sheriff say, "I admire your convictions — don't bother enforcing those laws"? Or would he say, "Do your job or find a different one"?

I do not want to live in a society where every law enforcement official decides for themselves which laws they will enforce. That's not democracy, that's not safety, that's chaos. — D. Sandberg, Phoenix

Opinions among law enforcement representatives over gun issues, based on news reports, appear clearly divided.

Police, hired and trained by branches of government, are mostly reported to favor control of "assault weapons." TV and movie shoot-outs between cops and bad guys replicate on-the-job daily dangers to all officers of the law confronting offenders who are armed with military firepower, body armor, and paranoid anger at the society our cops must protect.

Sheriff Winters and other elected sheriffs disagree and would go against their oath of office to not enforce outlawing "assault weapons." Can anybody wonder if staying in office is more salient than limiting firepower which no real sportsman would ever need or use to harvest game or protect a home? Can we guess sheriffs reflect a vocal constituency as an NRA segment struggling for financial supporters and perceived power base.

Reporter Damian Mann digressed badly in a news story about law enforcement officers' attitudes by publishing a conspiracy-driven citizen's ranting threats to kill other people. If that militant gun owner's out-of-place interview was accurate, and he's so eager to shoot somebody — except in war or defense of life — he should not have a gun. — G.E. Myers, Jacksonville

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters says he will not enforce a federal ban on assault weapons, yet he spent the county's money zealously pursuing a court case to prevent a woman who was a state-legal medical marijuana patient from obtaining a handgun permit. Sheriff Winters argued that issuing the license would violate federal gun control laws.

Looks like Winters plans to pick and choose what federal laws he will enforce. The irony seems to escape him. — Claudia Little, Ashland